Epilepsy Center | Patient Stories

Stopping seizures with laser therapy - Justin's Story

13-year-old Justin Griffin was suffering from weekly epileptic seizures due to an area of abnormal tissue in his brain. His seizures were not able to be controlled by taking medication and his family was looking for other options. Using recent advances in imaging technology, doctors were able to insert a laser into Justin's brain through a tiny hole in his skull and destroy the area that was causing his seizures.

Sammy’s severe form of generalized epilepsy is known to be medication resistant, but with the help of the Ann Bergin, MB, ScM, MRCP (UK), director of Boston Children’s Ketogenic diet program, he found a therapy that worked and was named Winning Kid for 2015 by the Epilepsy Foundation of Northeast New York.

When I think of my father’s epilepsy, I always go back to a seizure he had during one of my Boy Scout camping trips. It wasn’t the first time I saw my dad have an epileptic seizure, but it was the first time I was the only member of our family around to deal with it.

Emi Burke, whose son, Conor, is treated at Boston Children’s for developmental delays and epilepsy, who was inspired to help pediatric patients all over the country.

Boston Children's Hospital has been named the #1 children's hospital in the nation by U.S. News and World Report for the fifth year in a row! It's an honor that we could not have achieved without you. On behalf of every member of our Boston Children's team, thank you for inspiring us to be bolder, dream bigger, and make the impossible possible for our patients and families.